Quick Bread

In the USA they are called “biscuits”, I think, a bread-like chunk of dough baked and served as a side dish with the main course.

Since this recipe uses sour milk, I suspect we are close to “sourdough bread”.

Whatever. I make these when I feel or need (same thing!) something bread-like in a hurry. Sometimes I feel like a bread-and-jam afternoon snack, or I want something to eat with homemade soup.

The basic recipe is sour milk and flour, and no, I don’t know what happens if you use fresh milk.

I purchase powdered milk in bulk, because I hate lugging what is essentially water home from the shops. I mix my milk in half-pint glass bottles, previously used for juice, and once the milk went sour (I left it out all day). Now I maintain a bottle of sour milk, well half a bottle actually, a cup full, in the door of the refrigerator.

In a mixing bowl (in the sink, this could get messy!) I shovel two cups of regular flour. I add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of baking soda (but see “additives” below), and mix the dry ingredients thoroughly.

I pour in the cup of sour milk, and immediately refill the bottle with a ˝ cup of powdered milk and a cup of warm water, shake, and place in the refrigerator to sour up for the next batch a few days from now.

I mix the sour milk into the dry ingredients. When the proportions are right, it makes a dough that is moist, but not sloppy. It is dry to the fingers.

I divide the dough in half; one half goes into a plastic bag in the fridge for next time. The first half is rolled into balls about 1˝ inches diameter and placed in well-greased muffing tins (but see “shapes” below).

Bake on a high temperature (375-400) for about twenty minutes.

Yum!

Additives

I will add almost anything to relieve the boredom; dried herbs (of any kind), ground black pepper, chopped apple peel, grated carrots, raisins, grated cheese.

Knock yourself out!

Shapes

Use my imagination, then add yours.

Roll the dough into three ˝“ diameter sausages and then braid them.

Roll the dough flat and use a cookie-cutter to make flat breads.

Drop the ball of dough into a suitably-sized loaf tin to make a sliceable bread.

And so on ....

Search